2.
I describe my feelings and reservations, and pass
on observations and comments regarding the material in the diary.

Chapter
01: Fire

1. The first chapter presents the
diary's description
of the horrible fire. We relive the terror of all those who are caught
up in
it: we feel the flames, heat, and suffocating smoke. We hear the
screams of the
unfortunate victims, and see how some of them throw themselves out the
windows
to fall 8 and 9 floors to their deaths on the street below. We are
witness to
the fear and helplessness of the tragically innocent victims that in
mere
minutes are devoured by the horrendous fire.

2. In the middle of the panic a
lone firefighter
appears who, together with a brave woman worker, try with their last
strength
to move the few surviving women into a side room – with the hope that
maybe
there they will be able to avoid perishing.

3. No sooner than the last of them
push their way into
the room, that the floor under them shakes … and they are falling.

Chapter
2:No More Fear

1. This chapter finds us in the
same evening
immediately after the fire, but in an entirely different place: on a
sandy
beach, under a free sky, near a sea or lake.

2. The 29 girls are introduced to
the man who rescued
them. He presents himself under the name "Pastekh"
["Shepherd"].

3. He explains to them, that they
are now in a new
place and describes the key points of his plan to enable them to start
a new
life. At the same time, he explains the limitations and conditions, and
emphasizes the foundations of Yidishkeyt
[Judaism]and Humanism that will formulate the base of
their continued
existence.

4. He also underscores, that they
will not be able to
return to their former lives in New York or to their loved ones.The girls are, of course,
none too pleased
about this.

5. They are in a confused state, so
he attempts to
quiet them and calm them down by various means, including ordering them
to wash
up and exchange their smoke-filled clothes. Afterwards they are invited
by him
to a light meal.

6. He takes down their names,
divides them up into 5
groups (each according to a different colour), and sends them to sleep
in
previously prepared tents – painted according to their assigned colours.

7.
In the
middle of the night, one of the girls sneaks into the Pastekh'stent,
and thinking him to be asleep, thanks him while quietly sobbing, with a
light kiss to his head … a mystery that will need to be solved at a
later time.

Chapter
3: Genesis in the Middle

1. It's Sunday. It's the
first day after the horrible fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
The
rescued women wake up to a new day. The place where they find
themselves is
named "Breyshis" [Genesis] by their rescuer and host – Der Pastekh
[the shepherd].

2. Pastekh gathers together
the women, presents them a summary of the recent events, and tries to
make them
understand how they are to proceed – in particular in the upcoming
days, but
also further on. The women (still partly in a shock from all that has
transpired) are not especially happy with the current state of affairs
and want
to return home – they are even afraid of losing their jobs if they
don't turn
up for work the next day – Monday.

3) Pastekh presents them with
the main facts of what has come to pass – in particular about the heavy
loss of
life – 146 dead from the fire, and that the factorywas destroyed – that there is no reason to
return, and that he can offer them much more – they just need to trust
him. In
the meantime, he tells them to enjoy this free day in the beautiful
place. Due
to the fact that they experienced a heavy physical trauma (several of
them are
still coughing from yesterday's smoke) – he will conduct a medical
examination
of each one of the women.

4. After eating breakfast, he
hands out a questionnaire to fill out about themselves and personal
issues. He
provides them with books and games to pass the time while he is
conducting the
health examinations. Afterwards, they will be able to choose
appropriate
clothing and shoes, because until now, they are clothed only in thin
sleeping
gowns.

5. As the medical exams are
conducted, Pastekh becomes agitated due to the fact that the two
cousins Vera
[#5] and Khane
[#6] Bergman are
acting strangely and seem to be hiding something about their origins.
As it
turns out, these are two Jewish girls from the community in Rome and
that's the
reason they lied and even changed their names to conform to Ashkenazi
(European) Jewish names – that they wouldn't be considered to NOT be
Jews.

6. Other revelations: Pastekh
finds out that one of the girls (Mindl
Edlshtein [#2]) is pregnant – as a result of being raped a
few months earlier. He promises to help her. She does not, however,
want to
reveal her condition to her friends, though she will need to – sooner
or later.
Another woman, Khaye
Green
[#17] has problems with her back and requires a real bed –
and won't be
able to continue sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag. In summary,
other
than another pregnant woman (Libe
Sobol [#21]), and other than various non-critical cuts,
bruises and
light wounds everyone is – thank God – in good condition.

7. After lunch. Pastekh calls
a meeting of representatives from each 'House' to formulate a plan for
the
upcoming days.

8. That
evening, a culturally entertaining program is
presented, where each one of the women will present and talk about
herself –
based on the questionnaire they filled out in the morning. Due to lack
of time,
only one girl, Sore
Breytman [#4], gets a chance to talk.

Chapter
4: Self Served

1.
It's Monday. Pastekh informs them, that in addition
to their other responsibilities, they will need to assist in recharging
the
batteries that are serving the tent-town, by riding on special cycles.

2. Pastekh gives up his bed to Khaye
Green [#17] due to her back problems.

3. As the daily schedule for going
out to construct
the new habitat – the town of "Breyshis", – is presented, Mindl
Edlshtein [#2]
reveals that she is pregnant.

4. The girls are less than happy
that they are being
forced to do the physical work of building the town. They do not want
to
be
slaves. Pastekh calms them down and tells them that it is for their own
benefit
and for no one else. In any case, the work is only for a few hours.

5. After lunch, the first of the
courses begins.
Because of the need to bring the girls up-to-date historically, several
of the
planned courses are postponed, and they concentrate primarily on an
overview of
World events that led up to 1911 (their year). By chance, the passing
away of
Y.L.Peretz in 1916 is noted – everyone is deeply saddened.

6. That evening, Reyzl
Charness [#22] and Blumke
Zisman [#23] discuss the weirdness
of the place and of the recent events – but particularly of the night
sky. The
stars do not seem to be in their right places. When
Reyzl demands to know where they really
are, Pastekh answers that they are in Pangea – the one-continent of 250
million
years ago.

7. Mirl
Perlman [#16] whose father is a prominent Rabbi cannot
accept this.
Pastekh explains that there are things we will never know or understand
– even
when we are given superficial answers and explanations.

8.
The evening's program consists of a continuation of
the 'come-get-to-know-us' activity of the previous evening. Today, Dora
Vaserholts [#27]
tells about her rich family and how she left her home because of her
love of
Yiddish theatre.

Chapter
5: Runners

1. It’s Tuesday. After getting up,
Pastekh leads the
girls out to the area where they originally appeared on Pangea. This
will
become their permanent meeting place, and has been named “Triangle
Place” in
memory of the victims who died.

2. Pastekh brings them newspapers
that tell about what
happened in the Triangle Fire, and promises to keep them informed about
what’s
happening in the outside world. The girls are deeply saddened reading
the names
of those who died, but are shaken up when they find their own names
listed
among the dead.

3. After breakfast, they recommence
preparing the
foundation of their future town “Breyshis”. This time, however, they
are
dressed in proper work-clothes and shoes.

4. After the lunch break, they are
presented with a
lesson on new developments in Science and Technology, as well as about
the
years 1911-1918 and the “Great War”.

5. During the evening program,
Henia
(Feyge-Hinde)
Goldberg [#10] reveals that she was using a false name,
because criminals
that had
murdered her father were looking for her. In fact, her father was a
special
agent of a world-renowned wealthy Jewish family in Europe, and she was
his
accomplice in carrying out secret and dangerous missions. This was the
first
time since her childhood, that she felt safe and without fear.

Chapter
6: What ‘YES’ and What ‘NO’

1. The girls are wearing their new
coloured gymnastic
outfits – the colours are according to their house-colours – and Feyge
Hinde Goldberg [#10]
is leading them in exercise. However, they feel physically exploited:
due to
the morning exercises, and the re-charging of the generator batteries,
and work
in setting up their village.

2. After lunch, a delegation of 5
girls with Mirl
Perlman [#16] at its
head comes to Pastekh to protest: They do not want to lead a religious
life and
become observant. He again explains to them the importance of this, and
shows
them some interesting things in the Bible that might even hint that
they (and
the other women) had been pre-destined for this.

3. As a result of the
‘protest-visit’ Pastekh opens
the afternoon lesson for the girls on the subject of Torah and ethics.

4. In the second session, he
teaches them about the
period 1918-1932: both about the flourishing Jewish life with respect
to
culture and Yidishkeyt [Judaism] (particularly in Eastern Europe), and
the
other side of the coin – the ongoing anti-Semitism.

5.
Instead
of the usual 'come-get-to-know-us' activity of the previous evenings,
where the
girls tell about themselves, Pastekh surprises them and turns the
program into
an entertaining dance evening.

Chapter
7:Tnoyim [Engagement Ceremony] (First day of Nisan)

From Pastekh's diary: "… In a
certain
manner,I feel like
a blacksmith: first
he heats up the metal, then he hammers and hammers in order to create
something. As soon as it begins to stabilize and form a shape, he takes
it and
replaces it in the fire, then pulls it out, and again hammers away …".

1. In the morning, Pastekh
announces that several of
the girls have accepted to remain with him in Pangea, and in honour of
this
there will be a festive celebration and banquet in the evening. The
girls
request new clothing – particularly festive ones – since their arrival
they
only have one dress each.

2. After breakfast they go out to
continue building
their village "Breyshis".

3. While most of the girls are
resting after lunch – a
"Family committee" of representatives from each house gathers to
discuss various issues and also about the upcoming mass-marriage.
Several of
the girls are not happy with the fact that their decision to stay (or
not) needs
to be made so urgently and of the Pastekh's stringent
requirements of
them. They
would like more time to get to know him and to think through the
situation.
Pastekh understand their arguments but stands firm – the wedding will
take
place on Sunday – but he agrees that anyone who decides not to stay
must not be
forced to leave immediately and will be able to stay another week.

4. The afternoon History class is
emotionally very
difficult for everyone, both for Pastekh and for the girls. He tells
them about
the events between the years 1932-1948. In order to partly lighten the
mood, he
begins by telling them the good news of the great miracle of the
creation of
the Jewish State – the State of Israel (about which he will tell more
in tomorrow's
lesson). He immediately goes over to the horrifying events of before,
during,
and after WWII – the war on Jews and the Holocaust. The girls leave the
class
entirely shaken.

5.
In contrast, in the evening, they celebrate a
joyous "Tnoyim" (engagement) ceremony for those who have so far decided
to stay. These are: Veronica
Del Monte [#5], Luciana
Del Monte [#6], Feyge-Hinde
Goldberg [#10], Khaya
Green, Nekhame
Rosentsvayg [#20],
Blumke
Zisman [#23], Khane
Zand [#24], Khane
Shekhterman [#25],
Dora
Vaserholts [#27],
Mindl
Edlshtein [#2],
and Libe
Sobol [#21]. The
last two due to their pregnancy. Also remaining because
of their young age are Malke
Gegerman [#8] and
Khane
Noyman [#1.]

Chapter
8:Let it be Shabes (Preparations)

1. Pastekh announces that he has
acquired new
temporary beds for them all – better than sleeping on the ground in
sleeping-bags.

2. During the preparation of the
Shabes meals, a sharp
confrontation breaks out between two groups of women over how the food
is to be
prepared (particularly the Gefilte Fish). Luciana
Del Monte [#6] arrives to take things in
hand, and makes peace among them.

3. During the afternoon lesson,
Pastekh tells them
about the creation of the new Jewish homeland, the State of Israel and
finally
reveals that he originates from the first years of the 21st
century.

4. After class, a group of girls
compete in a race
with remote-controlled toy cars. Rivka
Yudelman [#18] wins.

5. Just before lighting the Shabes
candles, when everyone
is ready, the girls open their hearts to one another and discuss the
pros and
cons of staying. For many of them, it's still a very difficult
decision. They
also deliberate with those that have already decided.

6. After the erev-Shabes prayer,
several of the young
ladies discuss the quality of Patekh's "khazanut" performance in
conducting
the services.

7. The erev-Shabes feast is a
success. Everyone sits
around the tables eating, talking, and singing – enjoying themselves
immensely
in a warm and friendly Shabes-atmosphere.

Chapter
9:"Oyfruf" (Pre-wedding Torah reading and celebration of the Groom)

1. Shabbos morning begins quietly –
as it should –
with praying and a light Kiddush. Afterwards, Pastekh gives a lecture
on the
weekly Torah portion – Vayikra – and shortly afterward they all partake
of a
festive Shabbos meal.

2. After the repast they all
disperse, to rest.
Several of the young ladies consider again their situation, and consult
each
other on what to do: stay with Pastekh – and their friends – or take
the risk
and leave.

3. During this rest period, a group
of girls starts
gossiping about another girl – Nekhame
Rozentsvayg [#20] – and makes fun of her, and worse: hint
at her throwing herself under every male that she meets. They go so far
as to
accuse her of immodest behaviour with Pastekh himself. Nekhame’s anger
flares
when she hears this, and she attacks her main accuser – Khane
Altman [#14] with great wrath. Their
beating each other is halted by the intervention of Mirl
Perlman [#16].

When Pastekh comes a running –
angry at them for
disrupting the holiness and peacefulness of Shabbos, Nekhame recounts
the
horrible events and experiences of how she was exploited since she was
an
innocent 13 year old girl. The two adversaries make peace – and
everyone
disperses. Pastekh refrains from punishing them.

4.
In the evening, after Havdole, they all celebrate
with a Melave Malke banquet. Simultaneously, those girls who are to be
wed
perform the Tvila – water immersion ceremony – according to Jewish
custom.
During this time, Pastekh meets with each girl, both those that have
already
assented to marry, and those that have still withheld giving a final
answer. In
the end, it appears that they are all convinced that a better solution
does not
exist for them – and all agree to accept Pastekh’s conditions for
staying in
the Town of “Breyshis”, and to marry him.

Chapter
10: Man and Women (Sunday Wedding)

1) Everything is quiet in the morning. The girls
prepare themselves spiritually for their "big day" – the wedding.

2) Probably the most strained is Pastekh himself. He
calls everyone together mere hours before the ceremony to present them with a
joyful surprise. He has prepared tailored wedding dresses for each woman – as
well as cosmetics and jewelry. They fall upon the treasure with glee.

3) At 19:00 everyone again gathers – already dressed
up, and Pastekh carries out awedding ceremony with each one
individually (except for the two youngest).

4) After the wedding ceremony Pastekh leads each woman
individually to his tent (except for the two pregnant women) and then calls in
the next one. After spending not more than 5 minutes with each one, he calls in
the next in line. In truth, however, 5 days pass for each one and Pastekh takes
each one on a honeymoon in various places around the world. When they appear,
each one of them has something to recount, and also to show – because it also
became a shopping trip for them – each one according to her taste.

For
the
moment, there are no further translations in English

NOTE: The next chapter
will - God willing - be published when it is ready